This invention relates to releasable fastenings for attaching boots to snowboards.
Snowboards have been in use for a number of years and snowboarding has become a popular winter sports activity in those countries which have substantial snowfalls. With the increasing popularity of the sport there has come a desire for the user to be able to attach his or her boots to the board in a simple and effective manner. It is also desirable that attachment of the boots to the board and release of the boots from the board can be carried out in a very short time.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a fastening system which meets these desiderata.
Some snowboarders keep their feet (and thus their boots) at fixed orientations relative to the longitudinal axis of the board, whereas others prefer to have the possibility of adjusting the orientations of their boots about an axis normal to the upper surface of the board.
It is accordingly a further object of the present invention to provide a fastening system which includes means whereby a snowboarder can readily adjust the orientation of his or her boots.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a releasable fastening for attachment of a boot to a snowboard, said fastening comprising a mounting member which, in use, is fixedly attached to the snowboard, a support member which is rotatable relative to the mounting member, first and second jaws mounted on the support member and arranged for engagement with cooperating formations on the boot, means for releasably holding the support member in a selected one of a plurality of possible angular positions relative to the mounting member and means for disengaging at least one of said first and second jaws from the cooperating formations on the boot.
Said first and second jaws are preferably so arranged that the first jaw is arranged to engage a cooperating formation on the boot which is positioned adjacent the toe end of the boot while the second jaw is arranged to engage a cooperating formation on the boot positioned at or adjacent the heel end of the boot. The disengaging means preferably acts on the second jaw, i.e. that positioned at or adjacent the heel end of the boot. Said second jaw is preferably arranged for pivotal movement about an axis located beneath the portion of the second jaw which engages the cooperating formation on the boot.
The mounting member which is fixedly attached to the snowboard preferably comprises a disc having a circumferential step portion, which circumferential step portion cooperates with the adjacent surface of the snowboard to define a location recess for a complementary part of the support member. Said circumferential step portion of the mounting member is preferably formed to provide an array of outwardly extending teeth, with the angles between adjacent teeth defining the spacings between adjacent selectable positions of the support member relative to the mounting member.
The first jaw preferably includes a mounting for a spring-loaded index member which resiliently engages in the spaces between the teeth of the circumferential step portion to provide a resilient restraint to angular movement of the support member relative to the mounting member.
The second jaw is preferably arranged for movement about its axis upon actuation of a lever which also serves to effect operation of a locking member engageable with the teeth of the circumferential step portion of the mounting member.
Thus, according to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a releasable fastening for attachment of a boot to a snowboard, which fastening includes holding means for holding the boot in engagement with the snowboard, means permitting rotation of the boot retative to the snowboard when held in engagement with the snowboard and for locking the engaged boot in a selected angular position relative to the snowboard and a common operating member for effecting release of the holding means and the locking means.
The common operating member is preferably normally maintained in a position in which the holding means and the locking means are both operative. The common operating member is preferably movable from said xe2x80x9cnormalxe2x80x9d position into a first release position in which one of said holding means and said locking means is released and into a second release position in which both said holding means and said locking means are released.
The common operating member is preferably biased by spring means into said first release position and is movable manually in one direction into said xe2x80x9cnormalxe2x80x9d position and in the opposite direction into the second release position.